Bharat Rakshak

Cop asks for bribe from judge's wife

Gyan Prakash, TNN | Jun 23, 2011, 04.48am IST

PATNA: Few state employees, if any, appear to be deterred by chief minister Nitish Kumar's avowed war on corruption. So audacious are the corrupt that they spare no one, not even a VIP with right and high connections.

Take this: Probationer sub-inspector Shweta Rani of the city's Kotwali police station allegedly asked for graft from the wife of a retired Patna high court judge for verification of her passport application.

As has been the practice in cases of such police verification, Rani recently visited the judge's residence and cross-checked the documents and details of the judge's wife in front of her. Once the exercise was over, she pretended to leave and allegedly asked the judge's wife to pay her for "snacks and sweets".

Not the one to unnecessarily flaunt her status, the judge's wife obliged the police recruit with Rs 200 out of sheer affection. But the uniformed woman would not accept it. She allegedly insisted for Rs 2,000, saying, "that's the rate for this job".

The judge's wife couldn't take it. Police sources said she called up DGP Neelmani and the top cop immediately responded, directing officials down the line to look into the matter. Patna SSP Alok Kumar suspended Rani and ordered an inquiry into the matter by an ASP.

That's not the end of the story. Soon after the SSP acted against the woman cop, an MLA sympathizer of hers swung into action to save her from further punishment.

While Rani could not be contacted immediately, state police spokesman and ADG (HQ) Rajyavardhan Sharma told TOI on Wednesday that the probationer SI has since been suspended.

Police sources referred to the quote, "Morning shows the day", and said since the SI has committed such a serious offence even while being on probation, she is liable to be dismissed from the service. It, however, remains to be seen if Rani's bosses heed her political patron's pleas or join the Kumar-led government's war on graft.

Day 5 - part 5

ODO check: 301 kms

Before, I start, the going rate in this office now is Rs. 500 per day. However, I have resolved, I shall not have my rights usurped by the very people who are supposed to serve and protect me. I will NOT pay. Period. Previously, I had not paid to lodge an FIR at a different police station for a lost mobile and I am not paying now. I did get the FIR lodged.

.......

Reform the Mumbai police? But how do you clean a cesspool of oceanic depth?

I do not claim to be an expert on the Mumbai police. But I’ve worked as a reporter in India’s richest metropolis for 25 years, and remained in close touch for another two decades. Some of this time has been spent in exploring the underbelly of Mumbai.

As a cub reporter, I was offered my first bribe on the steps of a magistrate’s court. I soon discovered that a senior reporter was running a lucrative business writing on crime. So before I learned about corrupt policemen or politicians, I was introduced to the venality of fellow journalists.

If this theory turns out to be true, then it’ll only confirm what’s been said for some time — that now there’s little to distinguish the Mumbai police from the city’s legendary underworld.

Some of India’s phenomenally rich policemen, serving or retired, live in Mumbai. The list includes IPS officers, an elite bunch that commanded countrywide respect and admiration up to the ’80s. Many factors brought about the descent of the Mumbai police into corruption and criminality. To begin with, there were the policy blunders, both at the state and the national level. Prohibition and the ban on the import of gold, which helped create smuggling syndicates, immediately come to mind. But IPS officers generally remained outside this circle of infamy. What ultimately sucked everyone into the whirlpool was the crazy ’90s property boom.

Stupid policies — a draconian law protecting tenants; the decision to keep big business out of construction; the land ceiling law; and the failure to create housing for the poor — all helped bring the underworld into Mumbai’s real estate business in the ’80s, either as enforcers or as builders. The ’90s boom made many fabulously wealthy. Today, the builders and land sharks, straight or “history-sheeters”, have become so influential that they virtually run Mumbai. And preside over a vast empire of graft running into thousands of crores.

It therefore surprises no one that occasionally the Mumbai police grapevine hums with rumours of the senior posts selling for as much as Rs 50 crore. These incredible amounts are allegedly paid to politicians by builders’ syndicates whenever they succeed in getting the top job for their chosen candidate — the primary qualification being willingness to serve the builders’ mafia. The builder-government nexus is so flagrant that not long ago a highly influential builder, now in jail, was virtually camped inside a bureaucrat’s office.

This sea of cash has introduced a totally new dimension to old rivalries between corrupt policemen. The stakes are now exceedingly high for everyone — politician, policeman, builder, gangster (“bhai” in Mumbai patois). As a result, top cops launch vicious campaigns against rivals in the race for senior executive posts.

In this internecine, intra-force lobbying, the capable cops become the victims. Two unquestionably brave officers didn’t get police medals for 26/11 as they don’t belong to any camp. Other honest and diligent officers are cooling their heels in non-executive posts. At the same time officers guilty of criminal dereliction of duty can be constantly rewarded. sAnd when the anti-corruption bureau wanted to investigate top officers with disproportionate assets, the request was summarily rejected. Is it any wonder then that, before he was slain on 26/11, a conscientious professional like Hemant Karkare wanted to return to RAW?

How does one change such a seemingly hopeless state of affairs? As we’ve seen in other spheres, it’s still possible in India to salvage a doomed situation. Sometimes a few good officers can do the job, provided they get the right structural support. Everybody knows what’s to be done. The basic need is to create a buffer between politicians and the police, reduce ministerial interference, ensure good officers take command, and have a watchdog committee of officials, judges and eminent citizens to oversee police functioning.

Several expert committees and a national police commission have done extensive studies and made detailed recommendations. Soli Sorabjee also produced a model draft police act. Five years ago, the Supreme Court issued seven directives to state governments on instituting police reforms. Last November, it issued a notice to Maharashtra for “total non-compliance.”

The problem is compounded in Mumbai since under the coalition government, the spoils are divided — the Congress oversees the municipal corporation, and Sharad Pawar’s NCP the police. Pawar knows the Mumbai police like the back of his hand — he could begin clearing the cesspool on his own if he so desired. But who said the NCP chief is a reformer?

The journalists have lost one of their own and many journo's may have compromising information about the police at all levels and be prepared to use it or at least the police may fear this factor.

You mentioned about not paying a bribe for FIR.....
....
At the police station insist and get both copies signed by the duty officer. (I know assuming he is in his chair)
....

Also, there is a web site ipaidabribe.com

Lessons to learn for sleuths








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SI recruitment scam shows the Police Department needs to tighten loopholes, writes MARRI RAMU


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Whenever certain type of crimes such as burglaries by removing grills of windows or thefts by distracting the attention of people are reported, police officials issue advisories how not to fall prey to the offenders again.

Interestingly, it is the turn of the police to learn lessons from an offence – the recently busted scam in recruitment of police Sub-Inspectors and constables. The sleuths of Crime Investigation Department had recently arrested five police Sub-Inspectors and five others, including four impersonators, in the recruitment fraud.

From the selection of impostors to write the exam to morphing of photographs, the fraudsters adopted a modus operandi unheard of in the recent past.

The scam was mostly confined to Nalgonda district. After identifying the candidates ready to pay money for getting help in cracking the selection exams, the fraudsters selected impostors who have some close facial features to the candidates. This was the first step.

Then, they collected photographs of the impostor and the candidate who has some features akin to the former. With the help of a photo studio owner, they got the two pictures morphed using a computer. The morphed photograph looks like that of the impostor and the same was pasted on the application, attendance sheet and answer sheet.

The imposter wrote the exam. Unlike earlier recruitment tests, there was no interview system, and this turned out to be advantageous for the impostors. Based on the marks, appointment letters were sent to the addresses of the candidates.

Carrying the appointment letters, the candidates went to the Andhra Pradesh Police Academy, completed training, and joined service in the department.

No crosschecking

Though the Special Branch unit of the Nalgonda district inquired about the antecedents of the candidates, the procedure did not involve crosschecking of photographs. At the time of joining the APPA for training, the verification of photos on the application forms and those of the candidates was not done.

CID officials opine these lapses helped the fraudsters carry out their scam successfully. The scam would not have come to light forever but for the arrest of some brokers for collecting money from some candidates appearing for police constable tests.

Investigation revealed that fraud was committed not only in the constable selection exams but also in that of SI selections.

Rajasthan director general of police Harish Chandra Meena was slammed for demanding that all new recruits into the state’s police force be selected only if they can run 10 km in an hour. Unfortunately, many aspirants were unequal to the task, with nearly 70 fainting in the effort and a 23-year-old candidate dying in Bikaner.

So, Meena came under flak from the media. But instead of backtracking, the 56-year-old police chief ran 10 km in 47 minutes and wondered why young men wanting to join the police force shouldn’t be able to run the distance in an hour.

4 cops penalized for chaining inmates to hospital beds

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/178878/blore-cops-bashed-up-youths.html
don't understand the fuss about drinking juice at 10:30pm. this is utter nonsense by cops.

freedom is a big question if these incidents happen.
choice is precious, so citizens should act responsibly and cause a big case for serious decisions that needs to be made on police reform.

if a nuisance maker is caught, tag him.. and have mobile devices capable of highlighting individual on ids, that are networked.. this way, cops can reduce mistaking normal people to criminals.

pity the poor cops. If that inmate runs away, his career is gone. I wonder what the SOP for this is.

the above story reveals as much as it hides, I will reserve my judgement on the particular cop until more information is out.

In major government hospitals I have noticed "prisoner's ward". This ward would have hospital beds and normal hospital equipment, but it would have a grilled door (like the lockup). Police men are posted here as sentries as well. I have seen such systems even in lunatic asylums (acting mental, when they have to face the music for their crime is another trick for the seasoned criminals).

Prisoner escort is also another risky area in India. In many places police have to use the same public transport systems. In some cases the courts have directed not to hand cuff prisoners as it is against their "human rights" .

AHMEDABAD: The city police has begun phasing out the antiquated.303 rifle, often compared to the Lee Enfield guns used in World War-I, as part of its comprehensive anti-terror plan. In its place, the police will only be armed with much lighter automatic weapons like carbines, AK-47s and INSAS rifles.

City police commissioner Sudhir Sinha has also decided to deploy four commandos trained in antiterror tactics in all the police control room (PCR) vans. The city police had deployed 28 PCR vans after the July 26, 2008 serial bomb blasts. These vans used to have only 3 constables, including the driver and two constables with .303 rifles. The .303 rifles will be phased out gradually. This is a part of the lessons learnt from 26/11 when Mumbai police found itself suddenly fighting the LeT fidayeens with .303 rifles.

None of the 85 police stations had automatic weapons and they had to rush to their headquarters to fetch the automatic weapons. This wasted nearly 2 hours, by which time the damage was done.

The .303 is the Lee-Enfield.

It was one hell of a rifle in its time. But no good for police work. Too powerful!

It was one hell of a rifle in its time. But no good for police work. Too powerful!

Eighty-seven more patrol vehicles will be deployed by the city police to act on calls received at its modern control room.

The procurement of 87 additional patrol vehicles would involve a recurring annual expenditure of Rs.35.43 crore and a one-time spending of Rs.6.18 crore, she said.

Making other announcements, she (JJ) said the Chennai City Traffic Police would get 1,125 additional posts as the present strength of 2,238 was inadequate to manage the city's traffic. The new posts would be in both the traffic enforcement and investigation wings.

Paging ASPuar....
When YS Dadwal was made the DP Commissioner did he supercede Kiran Bedi. If Kiran Bedi was superceded why did she not approach CAT? Or is YS Dadwal senior to Kiran Bedi in the service?

Although commuters are at risk from these threats, traffic policemen stationed at crowded junctions and crossings are often the worst affected. With shifts that extend from seven in the morning to two in the afternoon, and then from two in the afternoon to 10 in the night, their exposure to these fumes is both prolonged and continuous.

Although protocol dictates that they have to be supplied with masks to protect themselves, many of them have not been given these.

A traffic police inspector at the Cubbon Park Police Station says, “The department used to provide these officers with masks, but nowadays, the government has not been supplying them to us.”

Shifts extend from 7am to 10pm ? Is this DDM at work or are they talking of 2 different persons manning 2 different shifts. If this is one person doing both shifts then . Seems almost inhuman.

The conventional khaki shirt and trouser, woollen caps and archaic leather shoes don't quite make up for an attractive uniform, and so, our police force is a tad too boring to look at. But all this is set to change.

The country's police will soon get a makeover with the boring uniform giving way to a smarter and more comfortable version.

The Union home ministry has commissioned a study in which uniforms of police from across the world will be observed.

This will form the basis for modifying the uniform the Indian police wear, which was essentially designed in the pre-Independence era.

As new, more comfortable fabrics are now available and things like the leather belt and the woollen beret have lost their utility, the home ministry has decided it's time to rehash the design of the Indian police uniform.

The main idea is to make a policeman look smarter and comfortable in his uniform.

According to the objectives of the study, the new uniform should be smart and professional and convey authority as well as give a unique identity to the policeman.

"The police throughout the country should have a uniform that is comfortable, weather- friendly and has the utility features that are a requirement of the day. There will be a comparative study of police uniforms of important countries with a view to suitably modify uniforms for the Indian police and suggest a practical working uniform, for all hierarchical levels," an MHA official said.

The change will start from the top - the woollen beret cap. These caps, which are issued once a year to each policeman in the constabulary, have been found to be rather uncomfortable to wear, given the usual warm and sunny weather in the country.

They are also inconvenient when dealing with law and order situations or driving a twowheeler.

The replacement for these woollen beret caps could be baseball caps with POLICE written on them, which will not only be lightweight and offer shade, but look trendy as well. Many police forces abroad use such caps.

Another highly uncomfortable feature are the wide leather belts which come with heavy metal buckles, making them discomforting to wear over long hours. A replacement now being considered is modern nylon multi-utility belts which will do away with the metal buckles.

These light-weight belts will be multi-utility with dedicated grooves to hold on to accessories like wireless sets, mobile phones, whistles and even a weapon to increase tactical as well as operational functionality.

The fabric of the khaki shirts and trousers makes life miserable for policemen during the summer.

It is now being suggested that the police be allowed to shift to pure cotton shirts or even collared T-shirts of khaki colour, which will have concealed pockets to hold essential items. Similarly, the staid formal trousers will give way to new cargo trousers with no pleats but multiple pockets, according to a suggestion to the home ministry.

And lastly, the shoes might be changed too. They can be replaced with working tactical shoes that are sporty and light- weight. Ankle- length boots can also be used, according to a suggestion.

"The whole idea is that the new uniform should provide occupational protection. It should be suitable for tough working conditions and not hinder the policeman's performance while on duty," a senior home ministry official said.

The uniform will have to be comfortable and weather-friendly. It should also be suitable for tough working conditions.


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